Drying apparatus.



No. 798,845. PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905. F. JOHNSON.

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED ocT.1o, 1904.

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iff/ 41.444.41.441

PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

E'. JOHNSON. DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLIoATloN FILED 001210. 1904.

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PATENT muon.

FRANK JOHNSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DRYING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

pplcatoll i'lled October l0, 1904. Serial Nfl-227,831.

To LZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, yhave invented an Improvement in Drying Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a drying apparatus, and is designed especially for laundries, to be used in connection with laundering-machines, and to receive therefrom the articles which have been washed and rinsed, the feed of the articles through the dryingmachine being. automatic, so that the articles are delivered therefrom thoroughly dried.

The machine embodying the invention comprises a closed chamber of sufficient size to contain a number of guide-rolls, the said chamber being heated, preferably, by means of steam-coils and also supplied with air which is caused to circulate throughthe chamber and carry away the moisture. The articles 'to be dried are carried through the chamber chamber, being finally delivered from between the last pair of rolls. The aprons serve to keep the articles flat between them and are made of pervious material, so as to admit of a circulation of the heated air through them and through the article between them.

Figure l is a side elevation of the drying apparatus embodying the invention. Fig. 2

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line Q23 of Fig. l looking toward the right, and Fig. 4 is a hori- Zontal section through the upper part of Fig. 3. The drying-chamber a, the walls of which may be made of any suitable material, such as wood, is substantially closed and is supplied with heat from any suitable source, the interior of the chamber being shown as provided with steam-coils b2, which are fed from as best shown in Fig. 2, are at the outside of the chamber a, and back and forth over a series of rolls e, which are mounted within the chamber. The apron cl similarly passes over a roll cl2, which is adjacent to the roll 02, and thence back and forth parallel to the apron c, over the rolls e within the chamber. The walls of the chamber a are provided with slots a2, (t3, and a4 for the apron c and slots a5 and a for the apron d, the apron c also passing through the slot a5.

An article fed between the two aprons o and CZ, where they pass over the rolls c2 and cl2, will be carried downwardly through the slot ai and back and forth between the aprons over the rolls e, thus traveling back and forth in the chamber a and being retained therein for a` considerable length of time, being finally delivered between the uppermost right-hand rolls e upon the apron o and carried out of the chamber through the opening (t2. The chamber is shown as provided with a guide L20 adjacent to the opening a2, which guide projects inward over the apron c to catch the dried article as it is delivered and guide it out of the chamber a through the opening a2.

In order to obtain the best distribution of the heat, the steam-coils b2 arel shown as projecting from the pipe transversely across the chamber a substantially in the planes of the axes of the rollers e, so that the coils project between the loops of the aprons. Thus the aprons c and d and the articles between them travel successively over the steam-coils Z22, becoming subjected to the heat therefrom to the best advantage.

The air heated by the steam-coils babove described, is kept in circulation by means of a suitable air-forcing device, herein shown as a blowerf, havingasuction-pipef2, which leads from the top of the chamber a, and a discharge-pipef3, which leads into the said chamber, the said pipef3 in the construction shown communicating directly with a reservoir f4 at the top of the chamber, which reservoir is provided with a pipe f5, communicating with a series of distributing pipe systems f, there being one of such distributing systems for each loop of the aprons.

The main drying-chamber a is not tightly closed at the bottom, so that it will receive air which is drawn by the blower f through the pipe f2 after passing upward over the steam-coils Z22 and thereby becoming heated, the same heated air being delivered through the pipe f3 into the reservoir fAl and thence IOS . forations are gradually increased in size from the top to the bottom of the chamber, the perforations in the top member ofthe pipe system, .where the air-pressure is greatest, being comparatively small,v while. those in the bottom `member o f the pipe system, where the temperature has become decreased, are comparatively large. In the construction shown these dis- .tributing pipe systemsf rest directly/upon the steam-coils 52 and are below the lower apron c, the air thus being reheated by the coils and blown upward against the under side of the apron by the action of the forcing apparatus f; As the heat naturally rises in the chamber, moreover` so that the temperature ofsaid chamber is highest at the top thereof, the air becomes more or less heated in the reservoir f4, so that the direct contact of the steam-coils with the distributing-pipes .acts upon air which is already partially heated, so that the air delivered from said :distributing-pipes is very hot. The chamber a is further provided at the top witha fan g, herein shown as mounted on a spindle having a vertical bearing in the top of the chamber, and a pulley g2, whereby it may be rdriven, this fan assisting in the agitation of the airwithin the chamber and tending to distribute the current of air throughout the same, so that all parts ,of the aprons-and the articles carried by the aprons are equally subjected to the currents of heated air.

The rolls e are shown as mounted onvshafts e2, extending through the end walls of the chamber ci and having bearings in standards /1the said shafts being provided with sprocketwheels e3, so that all the rolls can be .driven by means of a sprocket-chain e4. In the construction shown said sprocket chain e4 is driven from a sprocket e5 on thev axis of the roll d2, which is arranged to be driven by the pulley cl3, and is provided with a gear di, which meshes with a gear-wheel c4t on the roll c2, so that both aprons .are positively driven by the rotation of the rolls c2 and d2 as well as by the rotation of the rolls e inside the chamber.

The apparatus is herein shown as mounted adjacent to a washing-machine A, which is provided with squeeze rolls A2, between which the articles are delivered to the drying-machine, and the said squeeze-rolls may be caused to rotate in any usual or suitable way in connection with the mechanism which operates the drying machine, as by the sprocket-chain CZ l In order to keep the aprons from running off the rolls e endwise, the apparatus is shown as provided with automatic centering devices' e; and j, which coperate, respectively, with the aprons c and (Z, which centering devices may be of any suitable or usual construction not herein shown yor described in detail, sincev they form'no part of the present invention.

The articles are fedin any-suitable vway into. the space `,between the. rolls c2 and 22, where they become engaged between the traveling aprons cfand (Z, which draw `the articlesinto the vchamber a. and carry them backv andl forth therein over .the steam-coils b2, so that they are subjected to theheated air,.which` is kept in circulation `by. .the airforcing apparatus, and are iinally delivered between the. two upper right-hand rolls,

.which are shown as slightlyseparated lfrom each other, so that the aprons are-.notin contact. The articles delivered at this point Apass .down the zapron c and out -through the opening a2.

As vvwill be seen from the foregoing description, theair is directed against the articlesr to be dried. in large jets at the bottom, where the temperature is lowest and .the

.goods wet, the size of the jets diminishing as the Vhigher .temperatures are reached and the `moisture more extracted. Furthermore,

the -directaction of the air-jets on the4 per-x vious aprons andy thearticles between them is such as to keep the articles agitated and to .prevent Vthem from becoming wrinkled in drying.

. What; Iclaim is- 1. A dryingapparatus comprisinga dryingchamber,.a series ofy rollers withinsaid chamber and arranged .at opposite sides thereof; endlessaprons extending together oversaid rollers; :means for rotating the said rollers to cause the said -aprons to travel; and means for subjecting said aprons to jets of airV from sources adjacent thereto, said jets being transverse to the direction of travel of the aprons, substantially as described.

2. In adrying apparatus, adrying-chamber provided with a series of rollers at opposite 'sides thereof; steam-coils projecting across the chamber adjacent to said rollers; means for rotating the said rollers; two i endless aprons extending together over the said rollers to receive and carry the articles to be dried through the chamber, .andair pipes located adjacent to the steam-coils, and .provided with jet-orifices through which thea-ir is directed toward the aprons, substantially as described.

3. In a ldrying apparatus, a-.substantially closed drying-chamber; two endless aprons eX- tending into the said chamber; rollers within the said chamber to carry said aprons; steamheated coils within the chamber between the IOO 'IOS

IIO

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loops formed by the rollers in the aprons, and means for directing jets of air against the aprons in a direction transverse to the direction Aof travel thereof.

4. Ina drying apparatus, a drying-chamber, endless aprons to receive and carry the articles to be dried between them; means for driving said aprons through the chamber; and sources of compressed air adjacent to said aprons and provided with jet-orifices opening in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of theaprons.

5. In a drying apparatus, the combination with a drying-chamber; of means for causing the articles to be dried to be carried flat through said chamber; and means for directing blasts of heated air against said articles in a direction transverse to the direction of travel thereof, substantially as described.

6. In a drying apparatus, the combination with a drying-chamber; of an endless carrier for the articles to be dried arranged to travel back and forth through said chamber; heating appliances adjacent to said traveling carrier; and sources'of air provided with jet-oriices and located adjacent to said heating appliances, substantially as described.

7. In a drying apparatus, the combination with a drying-chamber; of a pair of endless belts of pervious material arranged to travel back and forth through said chamber and to carry the articles to be dried between them; heating-coils between adjacent loops of said endless belts; air-ducts between said heatingcoils and the part of the endless belts above said coils, said air-ducts being provided with jet-orifices opening in ai direction transverse to the direction of movement of the endless belts; and means for supplying said air-ducts with air under pressure.

8. In a drying apparatus, the combination with a drying-chamber; of a pair of endless belts of pervious material arranged to travel back and forth through said chamber and to carry the articles to be dried between them; heating-coils between adjacent loops of said endless belts; air-ducts between said heatingcoils and the part of the endless belts above said coils, said air-ducts being provided with jet-orifices; means for supplying said air-ducts with air under pressure; and an agitating device, such as a fan, also contained within said chamber, substantially as described.

9. In adrying apparatus, adrying-charnber; means arranged in horizontal loops for feeding the articles to be dried through said chamber; an air-duct below each loop; and jet-orilices in the upper side of each air-duct, the orifices in each duct below the uppermost duct being greater than those in the ducts above. j

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two sub- FRANK JOHNSON.

Y scribin g witnesses. 

